Taking a compliment is a skill. Say thanks and stop talking. Don’t argue with it.
GRATITUDE
WHAT THIS MEANS
Compliments are awkward because accepting one feels like agreeing with it. So people argue, deflect, or point out what was wrong with the thing, and all of that quietly informs the person who spoke that they were mistaken. A plain thanks lets them keep what they meant and ends the exchange cleanly.
Practice the short version on the next one you get: thank you, then nothing. Resist adding the flaw you noticed or the person who helped you. It feels like arrogance for about a week and reads as confidence from outside.
A QUESTION TO SIT WITH
Which compliment did you spend a minute talking your way out of?
MORE IN COMMUNICATION & LANGUAGE
- Learning a language means sounding like a little kid for a while. That’s the price of a whole new door.
- In an argument, repeat their point back before you answer it. If you can’t, you weren’t arguing with them.
- When someone apologizes for talking too much, they usually weren’t. Tell them you liked hearing it.
Free, with nothing to buy inside it.